In a traditional camera, whether analog or digital, an optical system focuses light onto a single image plane. A single image is formed by recording (e.g., with film or a digital sensor) the intensity of the received light on that image plane.
Computational imaging techniques apply image processing to multiple captured images (sequentially, substantially simultaneously, or combinations thereof) in order to synthesize images that can be significantly different from the originally captured images.
Computing devices and communication devices such as laptop computers, tablet computers, and smartphones often include one or more integrated cameras or can be connected to external cameras. These cameras are commonly used for video conferencing or live broadcast over a network such as a local area network or the Internet, as well as for recording videos to be stored and transmitted for later viewing.